SHARKS AND RAYS IN UK WATERS

Content Updated:
21st March 2008

That which follows is a list of sharks and rays that have been caught
in UK territorial waters (e.g. 12 nautical miles / 22.2km from the
coast). The list makes no assumptions about residency of any of the
listed species, nor does it suggest that all these sharks and rays can
still be found in our waters. Species listed in blue are species dubium,
owing to only one confirmed specimen from the UK. Please note that the
Great White Shark (Carcharodon carcharias) is not included in this list
owing the a lack of any confirmed evidence for this species' presence -
see my article on British Great white
shark for more details.

The current state of batoid classification is anything but resolved
and there is still much to be untangled. The phylogeny used above is
that proposed by McEachran and Aschliman (2004).

References used in the composition of this list include Philip Vas’
book Sharks of British Coastal Waters (1991), the Collins Pocket Guide
to Fish of Britain and Europe by Peter Miller and Michael Loates (1997),
Bob Earll's 1994 article to the journal British Wildlife, and Leonard Compagno’s
Sharks of the World (1984) with amendments made according to
his 2001 and 2005 revisions. Additional species were added via personal
communication from Douglas Herdson (Marine Fish Information Services, Plymouth),
Dr. Paul Crozier (Scottish Association of Marine Science), Dirk Hovestadt and Martin Cadee. I am sincerely grateful to each of these
people for their assistance compiling the list.